Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jervonne Johnson
The purpose of the McCrae article is to discuss nursing theory and how it relates to
nursing today. A profession’s validity is based on it being able to create and apply theory
(McCrae, 2012). This provides probable cause as to why many nursing professionals have tried
to postulate such a theoretical platform to aid in the progression of nursing being considered a
profession. Ultimately, McCrae believes that theory has its place in nursing today, and I agree
that there is room for theory in modern nursing. This paper will provide a summary of McCrae’s
that the first theory widely recognized was Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relations. “…Peplau
emphasized the nurse… as the agent of change” (McCrae, 2012, p. 223). After Peplau, the
concept of nursing theory increased in popularity and a variety of nursing models based on
human nature appeared. McCrae wrote that “Theorists anticipated that models of nursing would
enable practitioners to become more autonomous and accountable in their clinical decisions and
organization of care…” (p. 224). This could possibly help nurses be perceived as more
professional.
Next, McCrae discusses arguments scrutinize against nursing theory. For instance, one
argument against theory is that it is incompatible with evidence based practice. McCrae (2012)
states “Much nursing theory may be criticized as untested philosophical musings that would fail
the Popperian test of falsifiability” (p. 225). But with this opinion, one must also keep in mind
that evidenced based practice is not always the best solution for the individual patient one is
Lastly, McCrae explores the implications of theory in nursing. With the role of health
practitioners constantly changing, the development of theory may help to better clarify their
NURSING THEORY IN MODERN TIMES 3
purpose (McCrae, 2012). “It is also important for the advancement of the discipline, as its
function extends into care episode management, prescribing and specialist skills previously
theory and its relevance in modern nursing. It was very informative and, while I agree with
McCrae completely that theory has its place in nursing, the topics that really stood out were in
the portion of the article where McCrae acknowledges and addresses several arguments about
nursing theory.
more practical than anything. Essentially “it is a means to an end, helping patients to adapt
positively to illness, to resume independence and to achieve personal growth” (McCrae, 2012, p.
226). This view on nursing does prepare the nurse for what to do in specific situations, but it
does not envelope all that nursing is. It also may lead to nursing care that is robotic in nature and
the Popperian test of falsifiability” (McCrae, 2012, p. 225). In some cases, this may be true. Yet,
in some cases, evidence-based practice is not going to be what works best for your patient.
Whenever an experiment is performed on a population of people to test out a drug, one may be
able to assume that there is going to be at least one person in the study that was not affected by
the drug as predicted. In this same way, evidence-based practice is not the only practice because
it is not going to suit everyone. Sometimes care guided human intuition and emotional sensitivity
is going to win.
NURSING THEORY IN MODERN TIMES 4
Conclusion
According to McCrae’s listed criteria of a profession, nursing has been validated as a
profession because it has been able to create and apply theory. Theorists have “…[enabled]
practitioners to become more autonomous and accountable in their clinical decisions and
organization of care…” (McCrae, 2012, p. 224). Yet, some people choose to see theory in
nursing as some sort of unachievable standard that diverts from the more practical aspects of
nursing (McCrae, 2012). Nursing theory should be seen as a help more than a hindrance because
it has helped nurses in the past assert themselves in their role as a necessary part of the healthcare
team and it continues to evolve today to respond to our ever-changing clinical settings (McCrae,
2012).
NURSING THEORY IN MODERN TIMES 5
Reference
McCrae, N. (2012). Whither nursing models? The value of nursing theory in the context
Possible Your
Content Points Points
1. Introduction of issue(s): (This section should not have a 5
level heading, but introduce the content to follow in the
paper, including your main ideas)
Mechanics
4. APA Format (title page, pagination, headings, etc.) 10
5. Grammar/form/spelling/punctuation 5
______________ ________________________
10. Draft 1 completed (peer editing in class)
Total Points 50